Before we came to live at the beach, my idea of heaven was lying under a shady umbrella somewhere hot and sunny, listening to waves lapping on the shore, doing absolutely nothing apart from raising a glass of something icy cold to my lips.

So for the past 14 years I’ve been able to do just that for 8 months of the year but – though I hate to admit it – it bores the pants off me now!

Which is how I began walking on the tide-line, thinking how chalky and insipid the pebbles looked as soon as they dried out and wondered if they had a coat of varnish added to them, it might preserve their hues.

A particularly gorgeous one had a blob of tar on it, so I decided to cover it with an ink doodle – and I had a eureka moment! Next day I took my pen and was happily amused all day as other pebbles received a glamorising treatment and over the course of the summer I’ve been churning them out. They’re great to have ready as gifts too and I write my friend’s name and the occasion on the bottom to personalise it.

Imagine my surprise when yesterday I came across Zentangles on the net – so very similar to these but on paper. Google Zentangles and you’ll see some amazing designs and clips on YouTube of clever folks creating them.

Like this:

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About artyjudy

A Brit, currently living in a beach house in Egypt with retired husband, a chihuahua and a puginese (both under a year old) plus a rescued Siamese cat!
Try to find time to paint and make jewellery, especially from my newest passion - Polymer Clay.
Have a lovely married daughter living too far away in London. Thank heavens for Skype!

28 Responses to zenstones

I realize this is an old post, but can you tell me what type of ink pen you used and if you clear coat them when you’ve finished the design? I’d like to try a fun project like this that wouldn’t break the bank buying supplies. Beautiful!

Hi Joyce
Glad you liked my stones. I found the best ink was architects Rotring black applied with a Rotring pen with a medium fine nib and chose smooth, hard stones and not chalky ones so the pen glides over the surface.
I tried several kinds of finewriter permanent types of felt pen but they tend to get blocked, whereas the Rotring one is washable.
When the ink is thoroughly dry I sprayed it with a clearcoat varnish, in my case the kind which they use to seal the paint on cars, as craft stores in Egypt are very sparsely stocked.
My stones have been on display on the top of a cupboard in my entrance hall and still are in good shape.
Good luck with doing yours. I’d love to see how they turn out!
Judy :-)

Thank you for your prompt reply. I can see that very smooth stones found on a beach would be ideal for this. I’ll shop around and see if I can find the products you mentioned or something similar. Joyce

I travel to Egypt regulary so the mention of Egypt sparked my interest. The designs on the rocks are so beautiful and they woud have a lovely energy. I am from Australia but my heart is in Egypt .
Christine

These are very beautiful. I came across them on Facebook, and I have shared this link. I keep looking at them and admiring your skill and their beauty. I am wondering, could you please tell me exact Rotring pen and ink you use? I looked online and there are so many different types. Many thanks. You have inspired me … I live at the beach in Australia and there would be many suitable stones here. :)

Thanks for the comment. :)
I found the link online to the kind of pen I used on the Rotring page.
I think the nib size I used was the largest one (1.0) and you will also need the black ink on the same page.
Hope this will be of help to you and good luck! xx

Over the past year I have used other types of pen and not just the Rotring. Anything as long as it has a fine point, depending on what there is in the local shops.
I have managed to buy one or two Sharpie pens which are excellent as they are also waterproof.

Hi Luc
Although my paintings and Fimo work are full of colour, I prefer to decorate the stones only with black.
I have seen on the internet other stones that are brightly painted but my choice is to keep it monochrome.